【明報專訊】TAIWAN'S EXECUTIVE YUAN recently sparked controversy after its website was revealed to have categorised the Han-Chinese, who make up over 96% of the island's population, as "other population". Critics have accused the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) of promoting "cultural Taiwan independence".
Information on the website shows that the Executive Yuan revised its description of the island's ethnic groups on 24 March this year, stating that "Taiwan's current registered population is composed of 2.6% indigenous residents, 1.2% foreign nationals, and 96.2% others". Taiwan's total population is 23.365 million. While the section provides detailed breakdowns of minority groups, including 16 indigenous groups, Mongols and Tibetans, there is also classification based on language use, including indigenous people, Hakka people, Mongols and Tibetans, new immigrants and migrant workers. However, the composition of the 22 million "other population" went unmentioned.
The Executive Yuan claims that in Taiwan, only indigenous people must register their ethnicity in accordance with the law. For all other ethnic groups, it is impossible to be statistically classified. Therefore, it would not tally with the facts accurately if "Han-Chinese" was used as an umbrella term to encapsulate all these groups. However, it is widely known that the vast majority of Taiwanese are descendants of mainland Chinese immigrants, while Han is recognised across the world as the majority group of China. The so-called "not tallying with the facts" was only a red herring. It is evident that Han is a sensitive term because it constantly underscores the cultural, historical and ancestral ties between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, a notion that touches upon the green camp's political taboo.
From a global perspective, most regions adopt ethnic classifications for demographic purposes, but some countries have chosen other ways. For example, France, to uphold its founding spirit of "liberty, equality, fraternity", never counts ethnicity in its demographic factors. It is hard to judge how well the two demographic methods work, but it certainly defies common sense to pursue the green camp's way of highlighting the composition of very few minority groups while brushing off the ethnic backgrounds of the vast majority in the name of promoting equal rights.
Some Kuomintang (KMT) lawmakers have outright criticised the move of labelling all Taiwanese as "other population" as proof that the DPP's "de-Sinicisation" efforts have gone to extremes. There are also questioning voices from the pro-independence camp.
[Taiwan's leader] Lai Ching-te once proclaimed himself a "pragmatic worker for Taiwan independence". Though he has not advocated "Taiwan independence" in a high-profile manner since taking office, he has made even more aggressive moves towards "seeking independence" in comparison with DPP predecessors Chen Shui-bian and Tsai Ing-wen. Aside from attempting to "dilute" the Han-Chinese heritage in Taiwanese identity, the green camp has proposed compiling teaching materials on "awareness of China's threats", opposed to and even banned student exchanges with Mainland China at all educational levels.
On the stage of domestic affairs, the DPP has expelled multiple mainland spouses who promoted "military unification". It has also listed the other side of the strait as an "external hostile force" and pushed forth a "mass recall" campaign against KMT lawmakers by pegging it with "anti-China". In the international dimension, Lai unprecedentedly organised a Victory in Europe Day commemoration earlier this month. By doing so, he uplifted the idea of "departing from the Chinese economy for the Global North", originally a tactic to deal with Trump's "reciprocal tariffs", to the level of aligning with the historical identity of the West.
Whichever side of the Taiwan Strait continuously instils antagonism and hostility, it will inevitably undermine the foundation for peaceful unification. If Lai Ching-te gains full control over the executive and legislative branches, he will likely push Taiwan to a showdown with Mainland China, and cause irreparable damage.
明報社評2025.05.19：「去中國化」走火入魔 台灣盡變「其餘人口」
台灣行政院網站近日因被揭發把佔全台人口逾96%的漢人稱為「其餘人口」，引起軒然大波，批評者直指民進黨當局推動「文化台獨」。
網站資料顯示，行政院今年3月24日更新「族群」介紹，指台灣「目前已設戶籍人口2.6％為原住民族群，另外來人口佔1.2％，其餘人口佔96.2％」。台灣總人口2336.5萬，族群介紹詳細區分少數族裔包括16個原住民族與蒙藏族，又根據使用語言劃分出原住民、客家、蒙藏、新住民與移工等，卻隻字不提2200多萬的「其餘人口」如何組成。
行政院辯稱，台灣只有原住民族群須依法登記，其他族群無法分類統計，全數歸為漢人又與事實不盡相符。眾所周知，絕大多數台灣人為大陸移民後裔，而漢是全球共認的中國主體民族，所謂與事實不符，只是掩人耳目的說辭。顯而易見，「漢」之所以敏感，恰恰因為它無時無刻不在突顯兩岸的文化、歷史與血脈連結，觸及綠營的政治忌諱。
從全球慣例來看，多數地區採用族群分類統計，但也有國家反其道而行，法國就為了體現「自由、平等、博愛」立國精神，完全不把族裔納作統計元素。這兩種統計方式孰優孰劣難有定論，但像綠營當局那樣以促進平權為名突出極小比例人口，卻同時抹掉大多數人口的族裔背景，實在有違常理。
有國民黨立委直斥，把台灣民眾盡皆劃歸「其餘人口」，證明民進黨「去中國化」走火入魔。「獨派」陣營也有人提出質疑。
賴清德曾以「務實的台獨工作者」自居，掌權以來，他不再把「台獨」高調宣之於口，但「謀獨」動作與同屬民進黨的陳水扁、蔡英文相比，變本加厲。除了試圖將台灣人血液中的漢族成分「稀釋」，綠營提出編撰「識讀中國威脅」教材、反對甚至禁止大中小學學生與對岸交流。
在內政上，以鼓吹「武統」為由驅逐多名大陸配偶、把對岸列為「境外敵對勢力」，以及把針對國民黨立委的大罷免與「抗中」掛鈎。在國際層面，賴清德月初破天荒舉辦「歐戰勝利日」紀念活動，把原本因應特朗普推行「對等關稅」而拋出的「脫中入北」主張，提升至在歷史認同上迎合西方的層次。
任何一方若不斷灌輸對立與敵意，必然破壞兩岸和平統一的根基。賴清德一旦真正全面控制行政與立法機構，難保把兩岸推向萬劫不復的攤牌境地。
■ Glossary 生字 /
indigenous : coming from a particular place and having lived there for a long time before other people came there
encapsulate : to express the most important parts of sth in a few words, a small space or a single object
red herring : an unimportant fact, idea, event, etc. that takes people's attention away from the important ones